AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn didn't need any tricks on Halloween this year. It was all treats for the Tigers on Saturday as they dominated LSU, winning 48-11 inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
It was Auburn's largest margin of victory over LSU, surpassing the previous total of 35 (1999, 2014), and it was also the most points either team has scored in series history.
"I'm real proud of our team," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "We talked about getting better each week. We've continued to do that, and we put things together today."
After a scoreless first quarter, Auburn struck first in the opening minutes of the second quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Eli Stove. The score was set up by the Auburn defense and cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett who pulled down his first career interception and returned it 48 yards. Stove scored on the next play.
The Auburn defense made its presence felt again later in the quarter when Christian Tutt recovered a fumble and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to put the Tigers up 14-0. The fumble was caused by Derick Hall who sacked LSU quarterback T.J. Finley on the play.
From that point on it was all Auburn, dismantling the defending national champions in all three phases.
The offense found its rhythm, scoring touchdowns on each their next five drives, including a 99-yard drive to close out the first half and a 75-yard drive to open the second half. The defense kept LSU out of the end zone until a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter with Auburn ahead 48-3.
Nix was responsible for four of Auburn's seven touchdowns. The sophomore quarterback finished 18 of 24 through the air for 300 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a career-high 81 yards on 11 carries, adding a fourth score on the ground. It was the third career 300-yard passing performance from Nix, who finished with a pass efficiency rating of 221.3.
"He was focused," Malzahn said. "He played extremely well today and led us to a victory. He's establishing himself as one of the best in our league, and I think it's about time people start recognizing that."
On his final play before exiting the game, Nix connected with junior wide receiver Anthony Schwartz on a 91-yard touchdown pass – the third-longest touchdown pass in school history. With the catch, Schwartz finished as Auburn's leading receiver. He had four receptions for 123 yards.
Stove and fellow wide receiver Ze'Vian Capers also caught touchdowns Saturday. The early score from Stove was his third of the season and fifth of his career. The junior recorded a team-high five receptions for 64 yards and added 21 yards rushing. Capers, a true freshman, was wide open in the end zone when he caught a 9-yard pass from Nix. It was his first career touchdown at Auburn.
For the first time since week two, Tank Bigsby failed to go over 100 yards rushing. But the freshman running back still ran for 71 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to bring his total to five on the season. Bigsby is now ninth among Auburn freshman rushers all-time with 503 yards on the season.
As a team, Auburn rushed for 206 yards in Saturday's win. The Tigers have now surpassed 200 yards on the ground in four straight games.
On the visiting side, LSU finished with only 32 yards rushing thanks to an inspired performance from the Auburn defense. The group forced three turnovers, held LSU to 5 of 17 on third down and recorded four sacks – two from Hall, one from T.D. Moultry and one from Marquis Burks. It was the first two sacks of Hall's career.
Auburn was so dominant on defense that LSU never made it inside the Auburn 30-yard until midway through the fourth quarter. LSU crossed midfield just three times on its first 12 drives.
"Our defense really came to play today," Nix said. "They caused a lot of turnovers, had the fumble for a touchdown, gave us great field position. They just were excited, and they were running around hitting people today. They set us up for success, and that was because we all came to play and we played together."
With the win, Auburn improves to 4-2 on the season and has an open date coming up next week. The Tigers will return to action Nov. 14 when they go on the road to play Mississippi State.
Gallery: (10-31-2020) Auburn 48, LSU 11
Auburn vs. LSU Notes
- Captains: K.J. Britt, Big Kat Bryant, Bo Nix, Shaun Shivers
- Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers. LSU will receive
- Attendance: 17,490
- First-time starters for Auburn: none
- Auburn has scored in 99 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
- Auburn scored first in the game for the 36th time in its last 50 games
- Auburn's 99-yard scoring drive is the longest for the Tigers this season, and the first 99-yard scoring drive since 2017 vs. Mississippi State
- 48 points is the most ever scored in the Auburn-LSU series, topping the 41 points scored by Auburn in 1999 and 2014 and the 45 points scored by LSU in 2011 and 2015
- 37 points is the largest margin of victory for Auburn in the series; the previous largest margin of victory by Auburn in the series was 34 points in 1999 and 2014
- Auburn held LSU to 32 rushing yards or fewer for the third time in the series (also 1999/26 yds, 1988/28 yds) and the 19th time against an SEC opponent with 32 rushing yards or fewer; the last was vs. Arkansas (235 yds) in 2016
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Tank Bigsby is now ninth among Auburn freshman rushers all-time with 503 yards, passing Rusty Williams (439 in 1996), Mario Fannin (448 in 2007), Tre Smith (454 in 2002), James Brooks (467 in 1977), Stacy Danley (468 in 1987), Chester O'Neal (480 in 1981), Michael Burks (483 in 1998)
- Bigsby scores his fourth and fifth rushing touchdowns of the season, his second consecutive game with multiple TD
- Seth Williams now has 1,875 career receiving yards, ranking ninth among Auburn career leaders, passing Lawyer Tillman (1,808 from 1985-88). Williams ranks 11th all-time in career receptions with 113, tied with teammate Eli Stove
- Eli Stove's TD catch was his third of the season and fifth receiving touchdown of his career.
- Anthony Schwartz is 13th in Auburn career receptions with 101, passing Ben Obomanu (97 from 2002-05), Ricardo Louis (98 from 2012-15) and Freddy Weigand (99 from 1984-88)
- Schwartz recorded his second 100-yard receiving game, with 123 yards on four receptions
- The 91-yard touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Anthony Schwartz is the longest career score for both and the third-longest pass play in Auburn history (the longest: 94, Cam Newton to Emory Blake vs. ULM in 2010)
- Bo Nix now has nine TD passes this season and 25 for his career. His third-quarter rushing TD was his third of the season and 10th of his career. Nix' 81 rushing yards were the most of his career in a game (previous 69 at South Carolina, 2020). This is the third 300-yard passing game of Nix' career. It's the second time he's accounted for four touchdowns (also at Arkansas, 2019)
- Nix' pass efficiency rating of 221.3 today is the second-best game rating of his career; the best was 241.6 vs. Mississippi State in 2019
- Ze'Vian Capers scored the first touchdown of his career on a 9-yard pass from Bo Nix
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Christian Tutt's fumble recovery for a touchdown was the first score of his career and his second career fumble return
- Nehemiah Pritchett records his first career interception
- Big Kat Bryant records his second career interception (first of the season)
- Owen Pappoe has passed 100 career tackles, with 102 total
- Derick Hall recorded two sacks, the first of his career
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Anders Carlson is now 10th in career scoring at Auburn with 231 points, passing Win Lyle (230 from 1987-89)
- Carlson is now 7th in career PAT made at Auburn with 107; next is Al Del Greco (110 from 1980-83). Carlson had converted 30 consecutive PAT in a row before his fourth-quarter miss